Madam, let me tell you one thing
Tales of foolishness in India from Liz Scully of Rethink Central
Blimey – that took long enough
So, It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. A really long time actually - well over 3 months since my last chatty blog rather than a Signage Sunday or a 1 Minute holiday. Reason is… I stopped blogging. Yes, yes, I realise that sounds like stating the blindingly...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Talalla Beach, Matara, Sri Lanka
Ahhh, it's getting chilly in the Norther Hemisphere again so I'm dreaming of being back in Sri Lanka. I've not been since 2012 - which is a really long time for me. I usually go every year around my birthday in August. But last year I was fooling about in New York...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Dawn in Pune at the Four Seasons Vineyard
Dawn, somehow doesn't get as much good press as sunset. But it's really every bit as fabulous. And when I can, I like to get up and have a wander about in the early light. Here I am in the rather odd, slightly blasted plain that is the dawn in Pune. Again at that...
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Signage Sunday: Curated: Where God gets his hair done… apparently
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Katie Schenk - our lovely South Africa based, Rethink copywriter. She's a fabulous eye for quirk and this is the fourth of four posts from Katie. In case you ever wondered, did God create hair salons and where does...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Step Tank, Hampi
Now this truly is a wonderful architectural thing - the step tank at Hampi. Yet another reason it's a Unesco heritage site - I really have no idea why it's not as well known as Anchor Watt. There are a few impressive step tanks of this sort of ilk scattered over...
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Signage Sunday: Curated: What on earth is ‘Painless floats the lip’?
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Katie Schenk - our lovely South Africa based, Rethink copywriter. She's a fabulous eye for quirk and this is the third of four posts from Katie. As I was shopping in the “China Town” area of Johannesburg, I stumbled...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Four Season Vineyard, Pune : The magic of bottling
We're back at the Four Seasons vineyard again this week (I couldn't get enough about their process there it was all so fascinating to me). I was particularly taken with the machines that bottled and labelled the wine. Do join me for an enjoyable minute of watching...
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Signage Sunday: Curated: My Family. The Sticker you don’t want to see
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Katie Schenk - our lovely South Africa based, Rethink copywriter. She's a fabulous eye for quirk and this is the second of four posts from Katie. Okay, it’s almost a sign. All of a sudden, every other car in the...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Lotus Mahal, Unesco worthy ceiling at Hampi
I know, I know, more of Hampi. But it IS my favourite place on the planet and this is one of the jewels in it's crown. So, indulge me and spend slightly under a minute stood next to me gawking at the gorgeous symmetry of the Lotus Mahal ceiling. The ladies of the...
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Signage Sunday: Curated : Bear ass buys
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Katie Schenk - our lovely South Africa based, Rethink copywriter. She's a fabulous eye for quirk and this is the first of four posts from Katie. Pharmacies in South Africa are a combination of European-style...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Sunrise in the paddy fields, Hampi Island
This is one of my favourite places on earth. This week, we're in the lush greenery of the rice fields just after dawn. Stand with me and hear the birds singing, and the slow trickle of water into the paddy fields. I've been to this particular hotel many times, there...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Mai Khao Beach, Phuket (again – but it IS very lovely)
This week we're back on the gorgeous beach at Mai Khao Beach in Phuket. If you're a regular reader, you may remember I was here shooting in January for my Career Course launch. What can I say? It's a hard life! Come and join me for a moment standing by the waves and...
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Signage Sunday: Are you making googly eyes at me?
I very nearly missed the fabulous detail on this sign. Admittedly the entire concept of 'braking for snakes' amused me enough to begin with. I mean really, would you actually see them in enough time to be able to guarantee you'd not squashed them flat. And for many...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: the Fermentation Tanks at Four Seasons Winery
More from my trip earlier in the year to the fascinating and lovely Four Seasons Vineyard in Pune. I love the acoustics in here - all the dripping and water sounds as they clean the tanks. And of course, it's all shiny metal. All that training as a silversmith I had...
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Signage Sunday: That’s a beautiful bum
I saw this in a rather lovely gastro pub in London last time I was back. There's an awful lot I like about it. First there's the rather jaunty fact that there's no real reason to have a baboon there at all. It's merely telling you that you can have endless topups on...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Ancient Lingum, Ancient Man : Hampi, Karnataka
Now, I know I've shared a lot of Hampi videos recently - but this is something special. Totally otherworldly. I was spellbound when this happened. Here's a Brahmin priest doing some odd (and fairly prosaic) housekeeping: looking for coins in the flooded water around...
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Signage Sunday: Very focused love
Do you see the dog in this picture? Little white dog, being very, very good and waiting for it's owner to return. It's sitting directly in front of the door to the store, while tied to a bike stand. Tied up, but there's no danger of this dog wandering off - look at it...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Queen’s Bath, Hampi, Karnataka
So we've been on a bit of a Hampi kick recently - and as it is my favourite place on earth... I'm going to give you a bit more of the joy of the place. This week we're at the Queen's bath. A swimming pool solely for the Queen (as you can tell by the name). Thing is,...
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Signage Sunday: Dreek. The real reason I don’t live in the UK
Do you know the Scottish word 'dreek'? It means bad weather. In some areas of Scotland it means really bad weather - soaking wet and freezing cold. But with my Ayrshire chums it usually meant that horrible cold, wet weather where it wasn't actually raining, but you...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Rickshaw ride at Hampi Bazaar
Remember we took a ride in a rickshaw together back in Bangalore? Well this week, we're bouncing along through the Unesco world heritage site that is Hampi. We're in Hampi Bazaar, and you can see the crowded streets, cows and glimpse of the gopurum of the temple...
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View from the office: 6 August 2014
I've had a few people asking where I'm staying in Toronto and how I'm liking being over here. So today I'm sharing my little hideaway in Toronto. I've been trying out different areas in the city and this month I'm in a very quiet area near the lake. As you can see...
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Signage Sunday: Curated : Foreign things, made at home
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Aurelia Zoss. This is the fourth of four posts from Aurelia. Indians are 'ear' minded: it’s the information that counts, and not so much the spelling. Fair enough. As an expat who’s been around for long enough, you...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: Crushing it at the Four Seasons Vineyard, Pune
If you're a regular reader (and why would you not be?) then you might remember that I had a trip to Pune to visit a rather fancy Four Seasons Vineyard near there just before I left India. Very nice it was too. There was ace food, lovely people and we got a tour round...
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You MUST give us your name. Well, no.
A few months before I left India, a very strange, but deeply Indian thing happened. The doorbell rang and when I opened the door, there stood two small ladies with a clipboard and one of our (fairly useless) building security guards. They told me they were from one of...
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Signage Sunday: Curated : Deck the wells with bows of Holly (water)
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Aurelia Zoss. This is the third of four posts from Aurelia. There are a few things every good Hindu must do once in their life. Pilgrimages to all four of the holiest temples in Puri, Rameswaram, Dwarka, and...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: The river at Hampi
So, this week we're sitting under a holy tree next to the river in Hampi, the UNESCO world heritage site (and my fave place in India). You can hear the clang of the bell to wake the idol in the temple, the hum of tourists and pilgrims and the incredibly annoying sound...
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Stalker? Are you looking for me?
I have a stalker. Not a scary stalker, no; a digital stalker. Someone who lurks about online and follows what I do. Not in a positive, ‘ooh I just love Liz and I can’t get enough of her work’ way either.. No, this person, apparently, loathes me. I know, hard to...
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Signage Sunday : Curated : Please don’t ring the bell!
Please meet curator of this months Signage Sunday, Aurelia Zoss. This is the second of four posts from Aurelia. I like my neighbors, probably because I hardly hear or see them. One of them is actually really friendly. She gifted me sweets for Divali (the Hindu...
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Video: 1 minute holiday: A taste of village life in Southern India
It's back! It's been on vacation for a few months (see what I did there?), but finally our 1 minute holiday series is back. And we're kicking off the new season with a taste of Indian village life - in this case in Karnataka. I'm often asked by Western pals to...
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You mean, that isn’t a mosque?
Since I left India, I’ve had pretty severe culture shock. Reverse culture shock. It’s mostly worn off now, but for a good few months there, I was finding myself having a little difficulty re-adjusting to Western cultural norms. Girls in really short skirts in the...
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